PREP WRESTLING: Poway overwhelms Temecula Valley in annual dual

TEMECULA ---- Poway’s technique and experience proved to be too much for Temecula Valley High’s wrestling team on Wednesday, as it claimed six falls in a 55-9 victory.

The nonleague match, which is slowly becoming an annual tradition between two of the top wrestling programs in Southern California, is used as a litmus test of sorts for a Bears team that was ranked No. 2 in the preseason CIF SS Division I poll.

“A lot of people don’t want to wrestle Poway, and a lot of people don’t want to wrestle us,” Temecula Valley coach Arnold Alpert said. “So being able to get together is a awesome thing.

“Obviously, we would have liked to come out with a couple more wins tonight, but sometimes you just have to see where you’re at in life. You have to challenge yourself.”

All three of Temecula Valley’s victories came in come-from-behind fasion in the lower weights.

Frankie Sandoval scored a late takedown to defeat Emmanuel Lair 3-2, at 106 pounds. That was followed three bouts later by a similar comeback by Josh Cortez in the 132-pound weight class, where he defeated Colt Doyle 3-2.

“Both of those matches were very similar,” Alpert said. “They started out very even, but eventually our conditioning was good enough to wear them down and we were able to pick them off at the end.”

The Bears got their final win of the night in the 145-pound division, when Leo Mendez scored a takedown as time expired to defeat Sergio Enloe.

“The coaches drill it in our mind that we have to fight hard all three periods,” Mendez said. “We conditioned very hard for this match and it helped us pull a few of those close matches out.”

“We will break down the tape of this one.”

Temecula Valley hopes that its experience Wednesday will help springboard it to success this weekend as they travel to Las Vegas for the Shadow Ridge Tournament.

“We won’t see another team as good as Poway this weekend,” Alpert said. “We are ready to go out there and kick some butt.”

The Bears will travel to Reno the following weekend for the Tournament of Champions before opening league Jan. 3 against Vista Murrieta.